All Forum Posts by: Denise Evans

Sorry, you might not have been  monitoring this, @Danny Patterson. See my reply, above.

Danny, what do you mean "shopping for my buyer?"  If you have someone who wishes to buy properties, are you are scouting opportunities for them, you are practicing real estate brokerage without a license. It is a more of a gray area if you are finding opportunities to flip to purchasers with known criteria, especially if your flip is the kind where you assign your contract and never go through with closing. Bear in mind, however, that these laws are designed to stop the person who wants to truly engage in real estate brokerage but without getting a real estate license. If your strategy is a true flip strategy, I would not worry about the real estate license thing.

Make sure you have a written business plan that says your goal is to flip enough properties to build up capital to use for long term investments Attach some numbers and some deadlines to these goals.  You can change your business plan as you gain more experience. In fact, a business plan should be a living document that changes at least annually in some particulars.

It is okay to pay yourself a salary, but you cannot suck out most of the flipping profits to help meet living expenses.  If you do that, the IRS will classify you as a "dealer."  Dealers are not investors. Dealers are like WalMart. They buy and sell inventory.  Investors buy real estate to hold.  The dealers do not get most of the tax benefits given to investors--no depreciation deductions, no 1031 exchanges, no installment sales treatment.  Also, dealers must pay self-employment income taxes on their profits.  On the other hand, dealers can deduct many expenses that investors must capitalize and then amortize over many years.  You can be both, on a property by property basis, but you have to pick in advance before you get audited and the IRS makes the decision.

@Marquell Jones Do not even THINK about attending some nationally sponsored program about tax sales. Alabama is completely different.  Please do a search on BP for my blogs and forum posts on this topic for a general education, and then message me with a specifc question. To clear up a few misperceptions in this thread:

• You can take possession as soon as you have your certificate
• Many tenants will sign a lease with a 30-day cancellation clause in exchange for below market rents or security deposit concessions
• If the property contains a residential structure, a redeeming party must pay you for the VALUE (not the cost, which is usually much less than value) of the repairs
• Almost all lienholders must redeem before exercising their own rights to take the property such as foreclosure
• Local government liens (weed abatement, demolition, sewer, etc.) do not have to redeem before foreclosing but they must reimburse you for taxes. They do not have to pay for repairs.

Don't look at website for local newspaper. Go to www.alabamalegals.com  They have all of the legal notices (foreclosures, probate, local government bid requests, etc.) for every county in the state.  You can search back 90 days. It is free.

You need to understand the risks of a void tax sale, and the risks of judicial redemption rights. I have some blog posts on these two things. Please review them. Even though your seller has a tax deed, the former owner might still have redemption rights.  Those are called judicial redemption rights. Lienholders might also have redemption rights.  PM me if you want details.

Go to www.alabamalegals.com, select a county, and view everything for any time period during the preceding 90 days. The Sirote lawfirm website also has the foreclosures they do. Often, the night before a foreclosure, they will post their anticipated opening bid.

If the landlord's insurance prohibits certain breeds AND if the landlord demonstrates it cannot obtain comparable other insurance at comparable rates, then it may prohibit that breed, even if it is an otherwise allowed companion animal.

@Account Closed, I did not mean to imply that any kangaroo or gorilla could be a companion animal. I only meant to make the point that unusual animals can be companion animals. I recently attended a seminar conducted by an ATTORNEY in which he stated that snakes could not be companion animals, legally. That is not true. There is no "per se" prohibition against particular animals. In fact, HUD says that a breed thought to be dangerous, such as pit bulls, must be allowed unless there is knowledge that the particular animal is a danger to other people. You are right, the accommodation must be reasonable.

Hi @Jason Clinton, I went to Owen J Roberts as a kid. We were football rivals!  I'm in Alabama now. Much warmer

@Mike Cumbie, that is excellent advice to inspect and require repairs immediately. It avoids the problem of repairs mounting up in excess of the deposit, and is also "trains" the tenant to take better care  of the property.